Lesson 4 - Wort Boiling Technology and Process Control
This lesson explores the process of heat transfer during wort boiling, and how it can be controlled. It also considers the design principles of wort boiling systems and how energy use in the brewhouse can be minimised.
Energy Management Systems
Most large brewhouse suppliers provide systems that control the brewhouse as a whole to ensure energy use is minimised. Most systems use hot water tanks as energy stores. Hot water recovered by heat exchangers from condensed vapour and wort after boiling can be used to:
- Heat mashing vessels
- Preheat wort before boiling
- Boil wort (when pressurised)
- Mash or sparge subsequent brews
A text explanation of how these systems work is not the best way of gaining an understanding. Instead, please consult the figure below which shows an energy recovery system designed by Briggs and the links and videos explaining the Krones Steinecker and Meura products.
Note, this is for illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation or endorsement of the supplier’s product:
https://www.steinecker.com/media/downloads/equitherm_en.pdf
With everything in brewing, effective measurement of the process is essential for effective control and management. It is vital that the energy used by each process is measured and monitored. We also shouldn’t overlook faults that can lead to wasted energy like steam, compressed air or water leaks, failed steam traps and damaged insulation.